A Prayer for a Clean Heart

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

Wash what I cannot wash. Reach the corners I hide even from myself — the grudge I have made comfortable, the envy I dress up as ambition, the small deceits I no longer notice.

I do not want to be merely pardoned, Lord. I want to be different.

Make my heart a room You would be at home in.

In Jesus' name, Amen.

When to Pray This

Pray this in the quiet after confession, when you want God not only to forgive what you did but to change what you love. It borrows its opening from David's great prayer in Psalm 51, and it is a good one to memorize.

A Verse to Hold On To

"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." — Psalm 51:10 (KJV)